Low Eco-Footprint Potluck Rubric
Restoration Ecology and Waste Management
June 7, 2011
Mariah Ramsawkh

5 Rs- Reduce, Reuse, recycle, refuse, recover
Refuse- deciding not to buy certain things (ex products with excess packaging)
Recover- extracting/recovering things that are still usable (ex heavy metals in discarded computers)

Carrying capacity-maximum number of organisms that can be sustained by resources

-biologists check components (ie air, soil) to see if we're affecting it
-frogs are an indicator species
-look at water -> turbidity, stuff growing?, e. coli count

bioremediation-use organisms to clean things up
ex. bacteria modified to use oil as food source

How to deal with pollution
-eliminate production (ie use solar/wind power)
-clean up existing pollution
-Prevention=better than just clean up
-eco-cities-> solar and wind power -> reduce pollution

hunter/gatherer lifestyle- restricted population levels
-few babies
-high death rates
-nomadic

-farmers can sustain more people
-domestication/agriculture can sustain stationary lifestyle
-Stationary lifestyle= diseases from animals
-disease is a density dependant factor
-population increases as death rates decrease
sewage systems, vaccines, safe drinking water all decrease death rates
technology and science increase population

Human Demographics
-study of age structures to predict growth rates, etc
growth momentum- lots of younger people compared to older people = large growth rate
Canada's growth rate is quite low

Canada Population Trends
http://www.canadaimmigrants.com/qualityoflife/agingpopulation.asp

World Population Trends
http://www.prb.org/Datafinder/Topic/List.aspx?category=10



Population Dynamics

Pat Aguilera

Patterns of dispersion
pop_distrib.gif
image from http://www.biology.iupui.edu/biocourses/N100/2k4ch39pop.html

Symbiosis
Parasitism: The brown headed cowbirds have an interesting breeding strategy. Instead of building their own nests and raising their own nestlings, cowbird females lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species. The cowbird relies on this other species of bird to incubate and raise their chicks. The foster mother's own chicks often suffer as a result of the cowbirds chick's presents in the next

Mutualism: Aphids feed on plant sap, and excrete large amounts of sugar and water. Some ant-species use this excess plant sap for their own nutrition. Ants find a colony of aphids and milk the waste plant sap from the hind end of the aphids. In return at the end's protect the aphids from predators and parasites, and sometimes even move them around from plant to plant

Commensalism: Barnacles are sedentary crustaceans resembling conical pyramids. Barnacles eats by using long appendages to sweep the surrounding water for small organisms. Having a place to stay it is a critical resource for barnacles and they will often attached to rocks, ships, and shells. By attaching itself to the shell of a scallop , abarnacle gains a place to live and the scallop is not harmed by its presence

For interesting examples of symbiosis, see
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-esVpQ-w5E


Other
population density: D=N/S
mark recapture: number of marked individuals in the population/N = number of marked individuals in the second sample/size of second sample
carrying capacity: the maximum number of organisms that can be sustained by available resources over a given period of time

Characteristics of populations
A. Define the following terms
Habitat
the place where an organism or species lives

Species
organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behavior, chemistry, and genetic makeup that interbreed or have the ability to interbreed with each other under natural conditions to produce fertile offspring

Population size
the number of individuals of a specific species occupying a given area or volume at a given time

B. Distinguish between crude and ecological density. Use a diagram to illustrate each type.
Crude: population density measured in number of species within total area of habitat
Ecological: population density measured in number of individuals of same species per unit or volume actually used by individuals

C. Measuring and modeling population changes
Resources available to individuals in a population are finite and can be classified as being biotic or abiotic. Distinguish between abiotic and biotic resources
biotic: living resources, ie pray or plants
abiotic: nonliving resources, i.e. rocks, minerals, lights, water

D. Define the following terms:
I. Carrying capacity:
The maximum number of organisms that can be sustained by available resources over a given period of time
II. Population dynamics:
Changes in population characteristics determined by natality mortality immigration and emigration
III. Fecundity:
The potential for species to produce offspring in one lifetime
IV. Biotic potential:
The maximum rate a population can increase under ideal conditions

Population change can be calculated using the formula:
population change= [(b+i)-(d+e)]/[initial population size (n)] x 100

i. What does each symbol (b,i,d,e) represent?
Births immigration deaths emigration
ii. Design a problem using the above formula
Calculate the change in population in Tillsonburg in 1999
In 1999 there were 160 emigrations, 104 births, 103 immigrations, 165 deaths, and the population was initially 723,000 in Tillsonburg

F. Distinguish between the following terms:
i. Open and closed populations
closed: immigration and emigration do not happen
open: immigration and emigration do happen
ii. geometric, logistic and exponential growth (no formula required)
geometric: pattern of population growth where organisms reproduce at fixed intervals at a constant rate
logistic: a model of population growth that levels off as the size of the population approaches its carrying capacity
exponential: a pattern of population growth where organisms reproduce continuously at a constant rate

G. Sketch the logistic growth curve (a.k.a. the S-shaped curve) on page 668. Label and describe the lag, log and stationary phases. At what point does the environments resistance and dynamic equilibrium become evident?

bacterial-growth-curve.jpg
image from http://www.arrogantatheist.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=2623

Check out this rap on the population growth curve
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wedsbpawKM

For a helpful lecture on population dynamics, check out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQetxHbDZUU

Population Dynamics Cont'd - Matt Dell'Angelo
Factors Affecting Population Change

Density Dependent Factors - factors that influence population regulation, having a greater impact as pop density goes up or down.

Examples of density dependent factors include;

Intraspecific Competition - individuals of same species on population compete for resources in their habitat.
Predation - An ecological interaction in which a predator catches, kills and consumes prey.
Disease - causes death and hence decreases population
Allee Effect - pop can't survive/fail to produce enough offset mortality when the pop density gets too low.

Minimum Variable Pop Size - Smallest # of individuals needed for a pop to continue for a given period of time.
Density Independent Factors - factors that influence population regulation regardless of pop density.
Examples include; human intervention via things like pesticides and insecticides
extreme weather changes in environmental condition like temperature.
Limiting Factor - when any essential resource thatis in short supply is generally unavailable.
Interactions Within Communities
c
ommunities - all pop in a given ecosystem at a given time
ecological niche - an organism's biological characteruistics including use of and interaction with abiotic and biotic resources in it's env't
realized niche - biological characteristics of the organism and the set of resources individuals in the pop actually use under prevailing environmental conditions
interspecific competition - interaction between individuals of different species for an essential common resource thats in limited supply
intraspecific competition - an ecological interaction in which individuals of the same species or population compete for resources in their habitat

Predator prey relationship is like that of a sinusoidal curve because the maount pf prey tends to increase and then decrease as it is huinted by predator, but at the same time as prey decreases so does the predatpr amount slowly after.

Passive Defence mechanism - examples include hiding and camouflage
Active Defence mechanim 0- examples include fleeing from predators

Mimicry - done to resemble traity of a species that is less attractive to predators for example resembling a poisonous animal that predators avoid.

Symbiosis Mutualism
Mutualism - symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit as neither is harmed, categorized as a +/+ relationship
Commensalism - a symbiotic relationship in which ine organism benefits while the other organism is unaffected, categorized as a +/0 relationhip
Parasitism - symbiotic relationship in which one organism benefits at the expense of another organism ehich is often hrmed usuallynot killed, categorized as +/-